Digital Hackers' Memories

Needless to say, that guy was secretly trying to find out my background, either to make a second deal with me or to steal my database directly.

This is not unusual in the hacker community, because most hackers are extremely self-centered and arrogant people who are used to getting something for nothing.

In fact, this is something that the teenage hacker often encounters as a "seller," and he has long been used to it.

Chen Ze's ultimate method was indeed secretive, but it ultimately did not exceed the scope of "hacking technology," and was tracked through data traffic and address location.

For the teenage hacker who had other tricks up his sleeve, such tracking methods were far from sufficient to pinpoint his exact location.

What truly surprised and even terrified the young hacker was another tracker, one who was clearly not simply using "hacking techniques" to track him.

"Digimon?"

The young hacker was quite certain of his deduction: the only thing that could pinpoint his location and keep tracking him was a Digimon.

"Finally found you, account hunter!"

With a shout to stop, the virtual screen in front of the young hacker suddenly overflowed with massive amounts of data, which then reconstructed a human figure right in front of him.

"I already told you you've got the wrong person!"

Clearly, this wasn't the first time the young hacker had clashed with this tracker, leaving him both surprised and somewhat helpless.

"I'm not the guy who stole your account, what's the point of you chasing after me?"

Before he could finish speaking, the young hacker decisively turned and ran.

At this moment, the young hacker hoped to get out of this hellhole before the guy completely reassembled.

"You can't escape, account hunter!"

As the light from the data faded, a boy wearing a blue hoodie and an eye mask-like terminal hanging around his neck finally appeared on the fourth floor of Kowloon.

"Kyusoo, we absolutely cannot let him escape this time."

Hearing Erika's voice in his ear, Keisuke naturally nodded in affirmation.

"Please help me locate him, and then leave the rest to me."

Through remote data interaction, Keisuke communicated with Erika in the real world while rushing towards the direction the teenage hacker had left.

This is how a standard hacker team should collaborate in the EDEN network.

While solo hackers may seem glamorous, only closely coordinated teams like the "Butterfly" organization can maximize their potential.

............................................................................................................

Let's rewind to one minute ago, when Chen Ze was still communicating with the fox demon.

"what?"

Chen Ze's face showed a surprised expression when he realized that the trojan he had secretly planted had been discovered and deleted by the young hacker.

Chen Ze wasn't surprised that the young hacker could discover and delete his own Trojan; after all, he was a seasoned veteran who had been operating in Nordens for so long.

What Chen Ze found truly strange was that, judging from the data collected by the Trojan just now, the young hacker seemed to have some issues.

Generally speaking, even the most skilled hackers still need to rely on a real terminal computer to maintain the operation of their data avatars.

In other words, no matter where the hackers appear in EDEN, there is definitely an IP address and a real physical address behind them.

However, the young hacker was different. No matter how Chen Ze searched and deciphered the other party's data, he could not obtain a real IP address.

It's not accurate to say that there was no IP address, because Chen Ze was already able to decipher the other party's physical location through the data collected by the Trojan.

But that's where the problem lies: Chen Ze deciphered more than just one IP address.

Just as if a teenage hacker were simultaneously connecting to him through countless springboards, Chen Ze was able to decipher more than ten IPs based solely on the data he had just collected.

This is clearly not normal, because such a near-dynamic IP change is hard not to make Chen Ze make certain associations.

"Digimon?"

Yes, the young hacker's situation is similar to that of a Digimon; his true form is a physical entity that exists within the EDEN network.

The so-called IP address, network address, and physical location are meaningless to him.

Since Digimon don't exist in the real world, how can we determine their location in reality?

"what happened?"

Seemingly noticing Chen Ze's distraction, the fox demon couldn't help but ask.

"I may have discovered something very interesting."

A slight smile appeared on Chen Ze's lips. Although he couldn't be completely sure of his guess, it was pretty close to the truth.

"Do you think that, besides us, other Digimon might also disguise themselves as humans?"

The fox spirit, with its exceptionally high intelligence, immediately connected the meaning of the song to the young hacker who had just left after a brief moment of thought.

"That thing is a Digimon?"

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Chapter Twenty-Three: The Humanoid Eroder (Second Update)

"Regardless of who he is, the biggest problem now is how to deal with that invader."

Seeing that there were fewer and fewer hackers around, the remaining hackers seemed to realize the seriousness of the problem. They either logged off immediately or left the range of the invaders' attacks and chose to stand by and watch.

Curiosity and vigilance are the most basic elements to becoming a hacker.

If the Infiltrator weren't so dangerous, these hackers would probably have already started reverse engineering its internal programs, instead of silently watching from the sidelines as they are now.

In this situation, Chen Ze and the fox demon, who had not yet escaped the range of the invaders' attacks, naturally became their focus.

“I don’t like the feeling of being the ‘center of attention’.”

After muttering something indistinctly, Chen Ze naturally knew why those hackers were watching him.

Let's not even mention that the original opponent of the Invader was the Fox Beast.

His previous indiscriminate attacks on everyone, forcing them offline, were enough for those hackers to put him on their list of "crazy dangerous elements".

Chen Ze didn't mind, he was just a little uncomfortable with the feeling of being the center of attention.

—The Hacker Survival Guide

—First rule: Never expose yourself to the public eye; being elusive and unpredictable is the true essence of hacking.

The only saving grace is that although Chen Ze violated the first rule of hacker survival this time, he did not violate the second rule.

That is, a true hacker never has more than one identity or one disguise.

Even if those hackers really have some grievances against me, they can't possibly find my true identity.

After all, Chen Ze's current "Matrix" disguise is so deceptive that most people would never guess that he is actually an outsider who hacked into the traditional network.

Moreover, even if a hacker can see through this disguise, it doesn't matter; Chen Ze is not worried that the other party can lock down his identity.

Because beneath this "Matrix"-like disguise lies the form of Agumon (subspecies), a genuine Digimon.

"You asked for it."

The fox demon glanced at Chen Ze briefly, then offered no comment.

For the average hacker, performing multiple redirects is already considered a relatively cautious approach.

As for Chen Ze's behavior of not only using multiple redirects to log in, but also disguising himself twice on his own data, the Fox Spirit has only ever seen him do this.

This not only means the consumption of resources, but also Chen Ze's confidence in his hacking skills.

............................................................................................................

On the other hand, as the number of hackers around them decreased sharply, the Invaders seemed to realize that their prey was dwindling, and thus began to hunt instinctively.

The first to suffer is the hacker who was just watching from the sidelines and had no time to dodge.

tumultuous!

The nautilus-like eroder suddenly spread its tentacles and spewed out a huge fireball mixed with magma from its mouth.

—Lava bomb!

This is the Flame Beast's ultimate move, and also the strongest attack method that the Invader extracted from the Flame Beast after absorbing and assimilating its data.

"what!"

Caught off guard, the hacker didn't even have time to activate his Digimon to defend himself before being hit directly by the ultra-high temperature magma.

Under the erosion of the scorching lava, the floor of the digital space began to take on a digitized state.

At first glance, it looks as if it has been eroded by some kind of virus and can no longer maintain its original structure.

clack clack...

More importantly, as the hacker's data shattered into fragments, the intruder, which had remained motionless, suddenly pounced on it, intending to completely absorb the data before it disappeared.

"Fox Leaf Pact!"

At the critical moment, countless flying leaves appeared out of thin air, directly severing the tentacles that the invader had extended.

At the same time, Chen Ze, who had been standing at the rear, also cooperated with the attack launched by the fox beast. Various chaotic data, along with the EDEN network, surged directly towards the invader.

From a distance, it looked as if a massive torrent of data had ripped through space and slammed into the motionless invader.

Boom!

It must be said that this virtual network, which presents hacker attacks with visual effects, is indeed very spectacular.

Under Chen Ze's control, the massive and chaotic data quickly integrated into the Corruptor's core program, attempting to disrupt its internal program logic with various disordered information.

boom!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the fox-mon launched another attack without hesitation, using its most proficient demonic arts as cover to rush towards the invader.

—Fox Transformation!

It is no longer simply a clone or an illusion.

Having pushed the "Fox Transformation" to its limit, the Youkomon directly altered some of the data in the digital space, causing a huge depression to appear out of thin air on the ground where the invaders were located.

The true form of the fox beast suddenly leaped up, and with the demonic energy wrapped around its claws, it launched a long-range demonic blade attack resembling that of a kamaitachi.

"She's really starting to look more and more like a vixen."

Seeing this, Chen Ze habitually made a sarcastic remark and then began to cooperate with the fox demon's attack.

Because Chen Ze seems to have discovered a weakness in the Invaders, if his guess is correct, the upcoming battle may be easier than he imagined.

boom! boom! boom!

With this in mind, Chen Ze decisively ignored the possibility of server overload and repeatedly used the massive data deluge to bombard the invaders, preventing them from reconstructing a more useful and aggressive form.

With the addition of the Renamon's direct and fierce attacks on the Invader, the Invader, which had just displayed its might, was suddenly rendered powerless.

......................................................................................................

"Who exactly is that hacker?"

The few bystanders who witnessed this scene all had the same question pop into their minds.

However, before they could think too much about it, the invader, which had been at a disadvantage just a second ago, suddenly emitted an orange-yellow light.

Then, under the influence of this light, the torrent of data originally intended to attack the invaders became orderly and regular, as if it were a data structure with a tight logic.

clack clack...

Primal Invaders - Evolution...

Within that orange-yellow light, resembling the "light of evolution," the eroder's original nautilus-like form began to change.

Centered on its original indifferent single eye, massive amounts of data are reorganized and structured, then expand and multiply wildly, increasing the number and length of its tentacles, much like an infinitely growing octopus.

In an instant, more and more tentacles twisted the original structure of the invader and coiled and intertwined in a bizarre manner, reconstructing a barely human-like shape.

—Humanoid Eroder!

This is the new form that the Invaders have taken after assimilating and recombining all the data they can access by using the spiritual data of the Flame Beasts and the humans they devoured.

This also proves that the invaders have broken through the boundaries of the "original species" and achieved further growth.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Infiltrator's Source Code (Third Update)

"This thing is indeed a data life form."